Screenwriters Discuss Crisis of Creativity, Need for Originality

Dibakar Banerjee to Kiran Rao, India's leading filmmakers deliberate on the future of storytelling

- CHINTAN GIRISH MODI

The rise of over-the-top (OTT) platforms in India had made filmmakers, actors and screenwriters believe that they had found a goose laying golden eggs, but it is now time for a reality check. Alongside the opportunity to tell stories that may not be commercially viable on the big screen but lend themselves to home viewing, there are challenges to be dealt with.

"There is no independent-minded funding in this country. Reality has to be sanitised. Few people want to fund projects that look at identity and gender. It is hard to make films in line with your beliefs, politics and values," said filmmaker and screenwriter Neeraj Ghaywan of Masaan (2015) Sacred Games (2018) and Geeli Pucchi (2021) fame at the seventh edition of the Indian Screenwriters Conference (ISC) hosted by the Screenwriters Association of India at the Bal Gandharva Rang Mandir in Bandra in Mumbai last month.

There is a price to pay for holding on to one's integrity. Megha Ramaswamy, who wrote and directed What Are the Odds (2019) and Lalannas Song (2022), said: "When you experiment with form, you are told that your work is eccentric and nobody is going to fund it in India. You cannot rely only on European funding; it might come once in five years." However, being released from the burden of delivering a hit at the box office opened up new avenues. "Actors who are more willing to experiment are ready to collaborate with you," she added.

The frequent calls to regulate and censor content on OTT, especially from quarters citing hurt to religious sentiments, also seem to have made creators wary of taking risks. Dibakar Banerjee, who co-wrote and directed Love Sex Aur Dhokha 2 (2024), pointed out that "there is an elephant in the room called the dominant ideology" and that filmmakers are being asked to create "addiction" rather than entertainment or engagement to increase viewership numbers.